The Egyptian Worldview Do Their Temple Rituals
What insights into the Egyptian worldview do their temple rituals, festivals and apotropaic rituals offer us?
A central factor in ancient Egyptian religion is that the gods melded into daily life. There were links for humans to gods and this is admired in temple rituals, festivals and apotropaic rituals. The Egyptian worldview is molded from the belief that magic, kings and physical and non-physical components of humans were attributed to gods. All repeated earthly rituals, such as the setting of the sun, were an embodiment of a god. Egyptians believed maintaining life was due to the “predictable and repetitive manner” of Maat (Teeter, 2007. pp. 310). Any unexpected event was the work of isfet or chaos. The Egyptian worldview of continually …show more content…
maintaining harmonious unity with gods was embodied with the festivals, temple and apotropaic rituals.
In addition to securing harmony, magic was a tool in the apotropaic rituals. An example of magic use is when a scorpion, chaos, would sting an Egyptian; magic rituals would oversee the process of getting rid of the sting (Borghouts, 1994. pp. 121). A common focus throughout festivals was unity evident in the festival linking the temples by ceremonial boat rides on the Nile (Teeter, 2007. pp. 319). Moreover, people placed offerings in the temples to gain favour from the gods.
To expand the Egyptian worldview, one must include the hierarchy. Although the main goal for Egyptians was to join with the gods, getting there depended on where you were on the hierarchy. If you were a king in ancient Egypt, you were already celebrated as a god. During temple rituals of offerings, the offerings were sanctioned in name of the king but also presented to the king because kings were a lineage of junior gods with their predecessors being acknowledged frequently in rituals (Teeter, 2007. pp. 318). On the hierarchy, common Egyptian civilisation worked to maintain the livelihood of Egypt but would present offerings during temple rituals and festivals to secure unity with the gods (Teeter, 2007. pp. 324). To further expand on the individual worldview of unity with gods, the human body was made up of both physical components relating to gods, the heart, or non-physical components, Ka or Ba (Quirke, 1992 pp. 106).
Borghouts, J (1994) Magical practices among the villagers. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el Medina (pp. 119-130) Ithaca : Cornell University Press
Quirke, S (1992) Surviving life: protection of the body. Ancient Egyptian religion (pp. 105-139) London : British Museum Press
Teeter, E (2007) Temple cults. The Egyptian world. (pp. 310-324) New York : Routledge
In the Osirian version of the afterlife ancient Egyptians believed they were judged before the god Osiris. Study reading 6.3 and identify the areas of human life which were of moral concern to the ancient Egyptians. Do they reflect the discussions of Lichtheim and Ockinga?
All people are born with a moral concern but the major focal points vary depending on which civilisation is being studied. In the reading by Lichtheim, M (1973) The judgement of the dead it can be identified that ancient Egyptian moral focuses on humans valuing humans, protecting certain animals and the earth and caring for others more then oneself. In relation to these key moral points, Ockinga (2001) identifies maat and isfet as the key beings Egyptians identified with as good and evil while Lichtheim (1997) argues that forgiveness and happiness are the Egyptian ideas central to upholding morals.
Resembling all cultures, stealing, murdering, cheating and egos are abhorred by Egyptians with regards to humans valuing each other. These key moral clauses are leaders of chaos and Isfet (sin) is rooted on chaos. The Egyptian worldview of maintaining unity with all things detests chaos because it is unexpected thus disrupting the natural flow of the world. Egyptians with egos do not have a place within Egyptian society because one cannot hold himself or herself higher then king or god (Lichtheim, 1973. pp. 127). Whether the conciliation Lichtheim (1997) refers to one person or a council of people, this is in direct conflict with the ego she studied in The judgement of the dead (pp. 28) and the “loyalty of inferiors” (pp. 27) but Ockinga (2001) directly familiarised egos with social chaos (pp. 486).
Another moral focus is the respect one person treats another with. All throughout Lichtheim’s (1973) translation of The judgement of the dead, there are notable statements of respecting humans. Helping the poor and weak would be an everyday occurrence because in doing so, isfet will not regularly arise if humans help less fortunate (Ockinga 2001. pp. 485). Cattle, fish and birds are revered animals and deserve respect when being treated which puts them on par with the importance of morals regarding humans. Egyptians harming the animals intentionally, without the proper rituals, are seen as sinners because most gods are illustrated with one or more of these animals contributing to their physical representation.
Lichtheim, M (1973) The judgment of the dead. Ancient Egyptian literature : a book of readings :volume II : the new kingdom. 124-127. Berkeley : University of California Press
Lichtheim, M (1997) Knowing good and evil. Moral values in ancient Egypt.19-28. Fribourg : Gottingen : University Press
Ockinga, B (2001) Ethics and morality. The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt. 484-487. Oxford : Oxford University Press
Write a brief summary of your own conclusions about the nature of Akhenaten and his religion.
Make reference to the evidence on which your conclusions are based.
While discussing ancient Egyptian culture, one may point to their polytheism as being their most recognisable cultural influence. Their celebration of many gods shaped their entire existence, such as their adoration to the god Hapi who provided The Nile inundation period (Spence, 2008. pp. 170), into what we know today but around 1375 BC a pharaoh, Akhenaten, sought to destroy the reigning consensus of polytheism and change ancient Egypt into a monotheistic culture (Ray, 1990. pp. 14).
Akhenaten lead a new order when he ruled, devoted to one god – Aten and with this unheard of devotion, he was able to shape himself into a god on earth. Previously, pharaohs were always considered linked to the gods but Akhenaten wanted to shape his assembly in to devotees for his bidding so he proclaimed he was apart of a god (Ray, 1990. pp. 28). Akhenaten spoke about Aten’s creation of all cultures thus signifying the creation of an objective god and Akhenaten had to quickly change Egypt’s ‘old’ devotion and sought to destroy the physical message of the god Amun to pave his religious belief that he and his wife were two parts to the one god, Aten (Ray, 1990. pp. 28). Akhenaten took the place of many gods, such as provider of the dead instead of Osiris, and seemed to prosper in his new religion with offerings placed before him daily …show more content…
and acts of worship from his devotees when he paraded to different areas of his home and the new capital city of Egypt, Akhet-aten (Montserrat, 2000. pp. 23-25).
When Akhenaten died, Egypt reverted to the polytheism it was accustomed to which clearly shows how the devotion to him as a god was more a devotion to keeping the pharaoh sated.
So, while he was impressive in radically changing Egypt’s alliance in his short rule of seventeen years (Montserrat, 2000. pp. 26), it is more impressive that his mark was essentially immediately destroyed after his
death.
Montserrat, D. (2000). Histories of Akhenaton. Akhenaten : history, fantasy and Ancient Egypt. 12-54. London; New York : Routledge.
Ray, J. (1990). Akhenaten-Ancient Egypt’s Prodigal Son?. History Today, 40(1), 26.
Spence, L (2008) The Great Gods. Myths and Legend of Ancient Egypt. 130-182. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Do4v20P_CKAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
What impact do you think the geography of Greece might have exerted on Greek religion?
When studying Greek religion, it is significant to mention that the complete and most irrefutable formation of religion in Greece is visible from 8th-century BC (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 212). Greece is described as being an inhospitable, thus unsuitable, land for which living was problematic (Powell, 2007 pp. 18) but for Greek civilisation, they overcame such adversities and flourished from what they had. Along with civilisation came religion, paving the appreciation for the land and sea Greek’s were accustomed to.
As previously mentioned, conclusive findings on religious life in Greece are sparse before the Archaic Period (800-490 BC) but Euboea, located along the coast, housed artefacts which show that Euboean settlements continued to trade during the Dark Age and speculation is that this is the reason for the revitalisation of Greek culture (Powell, 2007. pp. 26-27). Although trade is a huge part of Greek history, the process of exchanging one item for another is the major Greek belief when it comes to their worship of deities. The relationship between human and divine were subject to a mutual agreement of gifts or favours. Humans would ask for fertility of crops and in turn, leave gifts inside the sanctuaries built for the god (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 215). Greece had many deities, each localised to the place of origin. For every civilisation, there was a god who was proclaimed to be the reason for the regions specific forte. For example, the Elusion’s had Demeter who was the goddess of grain (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 216).
Contrasting the above-described worship, Greek religion was not a cosmological world. Many archaeological findings suggest that humans and their deities shared common behaviours; male gods would have intercourse with mortal women and produce human heroes who protected their homeland, their place of birth (Powell, 2007 pp.46). Alongside this, as well as the geographical hardships of Greek civilisation, religion in Greece was continuously changing due to the invasion of different cultures in Greece and the inaccessibility of a city or adoption of foreign cultures was the reason that saved some evidence of the belief in difference gods throughout Greece (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 219).
Mikalson, J (2007). Greece. Ancient Religions. 210-219. London: Belknap.
Powell, B (2007). The cultural context of classical myth. Classical Myth. 18-5. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall
A central factor in ancient Egyptian religion is that the gods melded into daily life. There were links for humans to gods and this is admired in temple rituals, festivals and apotropaic rituals. The Egyptian worldview is molded from the belief that magic, kings and physical and non-physical components of humans were attributed to gods. All repeated earthly rituals, such as the setting of the sun, were an embodiment of a god. Egyptians believed maintaining life was due to the “predictable and repetitive manner” of Maat (Teeter, 2007. pp. 310). Any unexpected event was the work of isfet or chaos. The Egyptian worldview of continually …show more content…
maintaining harmonious unity with gods was embodied with the festivals, temple and apotropaic rituals.
In addition to securing harmony, magic was a tool in the apotropaic rituals. An example of magic use is when a scorpion, chaos, would sting an Egyptian; magic rituals would oversee the process of getting rid of the sting (Borghouts, 1994. pp. 121). A common focus throughout festivals was unity evident in the festival linking the temples by ceremonial boat rides on the Nile (Teeter, 2007. pp. 319). Moreover, people placed offerings in the temples to gain favour from the gods.
To expand the Egyptian worldview, one must include the hierarchy. Although the main goal for Egyptians was to join with the gods, getting there depended on where you were on the hierarchy. If you were a king in ancient Egypt, you were already celebrated as a god. During temple rituals of offerings, the offerings were sanctioned in name of the king but also presented to the king because kings were a lineage of junior gods with their predecessors being acknowledged frequently in rituals (Teeter, 2007. pp. 318). On the hierarchy, common Egyptian civilisation worked to maintain the livelihood of Egypt but would present offerings during temple rituals and festivals to secure unity with the gods (Teeter, 2007. pp. 324). To further expand on the individual worldview of unity with gods, the human body was made up of both physical components relating to gods, the heart, or non-physical components, Ka or Ba (Quirke, 1992 pp. 106).
Borghouts, J (1994) Magical practices among the villagers. Pharaoh's workers : the villagers of Deir el Medina (pp. 119-130) Ithaca : Cornell University Press
Quirke, S (1992) Surviving life: protection of the body. Ancient Egyptian religion (pp. 105-139) London : British Museum Press
Teeter, E (2007) Temple cults. The Egyptian world. (pp. 310-324) New York : Routledge
In the Osirian version of the afterlife ancient Egyptians believed they were judged before the god Osiris. Study reading 6.3 and identify the areas of human life which were of moral concern to the ancient Egyptians. Do they reflect the discussions of Lichtheim and Ockinga?
All people are born with a moral concern but the major focal points vary depending on which civilisation is being studied. In the reading by Lichtheim, M (1973) The judgement of the dead it can be identified that ancient Egyptian moral focuses on humans valuing humans, protecting certain animals and the earth and caring for others more then oneself. In relation to these key moral points, Ockinga (2001) identifies maat and isfet as the key beings Egyptians identified with as good and evil while Lichtheim (1997) argues that forgiveness and happiness are the Egyptian ideas central to upholding morals.
Resembling all cultures, stealing, murdering, cheating and egos are abhorred by Egyptians with regards to humans valuing each other. These key moral clauses are leaders of chaos and Isfet (sin) is rooted on chaos. The Egyptian worldview of maintaining unity with all things detests chaos because it is unexpected thus disrupting the natural flow of the world. Egyptians with egos do not have a place within Egyptian society because one cannot hold himself or herself higher then king or god (Lichtheim, 1973. pp. 127). Whether the conciliation Lichtheim (1997) refers to one person or a council of people, this is in direct conflict with the ego she studied in The judgement of the dead (pp. 28) and the “loyalty of inferiors” (pp. 27) but Ockinga (2001) directly familiarised egos with social chaos (pp. 486).
Another moral focus is the respect one person treats another with. All throughout Lichtheim’s (1973) translation of The judgement of the dead, there are notable statements of respecting humans. Helping the poor and weak would be an everyday occurrence because in doing so, isfet will not regularly arise if humans help less fortunate (Ockinga 2001. pp. 485). Cattle, fish and birds are revered animals and deserve respect when being treated which puts them on par with the importance of morals regarding humans. Egyptians harming the animals intentionally, without the proper rituals, are seen as sinners because most gods are illustrated with one or more of these animals contributing to their physical representation.
Lichtheim, M (1973) The judgment of the dead. Ancient Egyptian literature : a book of readings :volume II : the new kingdom. 124-127. Berkeley : University of California Press
Lichtheim, M (1997) Knowing good and evil. Moral values in ancient Egypt.19-28. Fribourg : Gottingen : University Press
Ockinga, B (2001) Ethics and morality. The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Egypt. 484-487. Oxford : Oxford University Press
Write a brief summary of your own conclusions about the nature of Akhenaten and his religion.
Make reference to the evidence on which your conclusions are based.
While discussing ancient Egyptian culture, one may point to their polytheism as being their most recognisable cultural influence. Their celebration of many gods shaped their entire existence, such as their adoration to the god Hapi who provided The Nile inundation period (Spence, 2008. pp. 170), into what we know today but around 1375 BC a pharaoh, Akhenaten, sought to destroy the reigning consensus of polytheism and change ancient Egypt into a monotheistic culture (Ray, 1990. pp. 14).
Akhenaten lead a new order when he ruled, devoted to one god – Aten and with this unheard of devotion, he was able to shape himself into a god on earth. Previously, pharaohs were always considered linked to the gods but Akhenaten wanted to shape his assembly in to devotees for his bidding so he proclaimed he was apart of a god (Ray, 1990. pp. 28). Akhenaten spoke about Aten’s creation of all cultures thus signifying the creation of an objective god and Akhenaten had to quickly change Egypt’s ‘old’ devotion and sought to destroy the physical message of the god Amun to pave his religious belief that he and his wife were two parts to the one god, Aten (Ray, 1990. pp. 28). Akhenaten took the place of many gods, such as provider of the dead instead of Osiris, and seemed to prosper in his new religion with offerings placed before him daily …show more content…
and acts of worship from his devotees when he paraded to different areas of his home and the new capital city of Egypt, Akhet-aten (Montserrat, 2000. pp. 23-25).
When Akhenaten died, Egypt reverted to the polytheism it was accustomed to which clearly shows how the devotion to him as a god was more a devotion to keeping the pharaoh sated.
So, while he was impressive in radically changing Egypt’s alliance in his short rule of seventeen years (Montserrat, 2000. pp. 26), it is more impressive that his mark was essentially immediately destroyed after his
death.
Montserrat, D. (2000). Histories of Akhenaton. Akhenaten : history, fantasy and Ancient Egypt. 12-54. London; New York : Routledge.
Ray, J. (1990). Akhenaten-Ancient Egypt’s Prodigal Son?. History Today, 40(1), 26.
Spence, L (2008) The Great Gods. Myths and Legend of Ancient Egypt. 130-182. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Do4v20P_CKAC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
What impact do you think the geography of Greece might have exerted on Greek religion?
When studying Greek religion, it is significant to mention that the complete and most irrefutable formation of religion in Greece is visible from 8th-century BC (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 212). Greece is described as being an inhospitable, thus unsuitable, land for which living was problematic (Powell, 2007 pp. 18) but for Greek civilisation, they overcame such adversities and flourished from what they had. Along with civilisation came religion, paving the appreciation for the land and sea Greek’s were accustomed to.
As previously mentioned, conclusive findings on religious life in Greece are sparse before the Archaic Period (800-490 BC) but Euboea, located along the coast, housed artefacts which show that Euboean settlements continued to trade during the Dark Age and speculation is that this is the reason for the revitalisation of Greek culture (Powell, 2007. pp. 26-27). Although trade is a huge part of Greek history, the process of exchanging one item for another is the major Greek belief when it comes to their worship of deities. The relationship between human and divine were subject to a mutual agreement of gifts or favours. Humans would ask for fertility of crops and in turn, leave gifts inside the sanctuaries built for the god (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 215). Greece had many deities, each localised to the place of origin. For every civilisation, there was a god who was proclaimed to be the reason for the regions specific forte. For example, the Elusion’s had Demeter who was the goddess of grain (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 216).
Contrasting the above-described worship, Greek religion was not a cosmological world. Many archaeological findings suggest that humans and their deities shared common behaviours; male gods would have intercourse with mortal women and produce human heroes who protected their homeland, their place of birth (Powell, 2007 pp.46). Alongside this, as well as the geographical hardships of Greek civilisation, religion in Greece was continuously changing due to the invasion of different cultures in Greece and the inaccessibility of a city or adoption of foreign cultures was the reason that saved some evidence of the belief in difference gods throughout Greece (Mikalson, 2007. pp. 219).
Mikalson, J (2007). Greece. Ancient Religions. 210-219. London: Belknap.
Powell, B (2007). The cultural context of classical myth. Classical Myth. 18-5. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall